VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - April 16, 2014) - Cornerstone Credit Union in Saskatchewan is the first financial institution in Canada to fully integrate personal financial management (PFM) tools into an online and mobile banking platform.

Using Central 1's MemberDirect® Services online and mobile banking platform, Cornerstone is now offering its customers a seamless way to track their spending and expenses, set and monitor budgets, and link their accounts held at other financial institutions across North America - all without having to leave their online banking session or open a separate web-browser tab. Central 1 partnered with Yodlee to provide integrated PFM capabilities to its credit union customers.

Personal financial management tools automatically categorize users' purchases and bill payments into categories, such as groceries, entertainment, gasoline and utilities, among others. Categorization facilitates spending analyses, making it effortless for users to better understand where they are spending their money so they can make informed decisions that align with their financial goals.

Easy-to-read charts and graphs allow users to see their spending across all categories for a chosen period and also view individual categories and transactions. At the same time, dynamic budgets update to show users how fast they're approaching the amount of money that they've allocated to spend on any given area. The budgets are automatically set for all categories based on users' last five months of spending and can be changed at any time.

By allowing customers to see all their financial activity in one place, financial institutions using MemberDirect Services with personal financial management can better position themselves as their customers' primary institution and improve their ability to attract new customers and deepen existing relationships.

An overview of Central 1's integrated personal financial management

Categorizing transactions. Makes it simple for users to get breakdowns of which areas they spend money on.

Spending analyses. Show users their total spending over a 13-month period or a selected period of time and by category.

Managing budgets. Lets users easily set budgets and stay on track with their expenses.

Linking accounts. Provides a complete picture of a user's overall finances because they can view the balances and activity of all their holdings, including accounts held at other financial institutions, investments, credit cards and even reward programs.

Going mobile. Users can view their spending and budgets through mobile web and mobile app services.

About Central 1

Central 1 is the central financial facility and trade association for the B.C. and Ontario credit union systems. Central 1 represents a consumer-oriented, full-service retail financial system that serves 3.2 million members and collectively holds $92 billion in assets and is owned primarily by its member credit unions, 43 in B.C. and 90 in Ontario.

With offices in Vancouver, Mississauga and Toronto, Central 1 provides liquidity management, direct banking and payment service solutions as well as a wide range of trade services. For more information, visit www.central1.com.

About MemberDirectServices

MemberDirect Services is a leading direct banking platform that allows Canadian financial institutions to offer the right mix of direct banking services to retail and business customers via tablet, smartphone, desktop computer, mobile phone or on the telephone.